One day I went out walking with my neighbors and their dog, a black lab. They put a choke chain on him with his regular collar, and it occurred to me that you could make that into one collar. Then I got the idea that that would be my project for the science invention.

I started to mention this to my Dad, who is a scientist, but he did not want to listen. He told me it was my project and to go and do it.

So my Mom and I went to the local pet store and bought a regular nylon collar and a choke chain plus some other parts and brought them home. We tried different ways to put it together and then got my Dad to get his soldering iron so we could fuse the nylon parts together. The first collar looked O.K. but cost a lot to make.

My Dad kept asking me questions about why I thought this was such a good idea, but I had an answer for every one of them. He really did not believe that people really use two collars on their dogs so he went out and looked at other dogs, and was convinced that they did.

I figured out how to get the cost down to something more reasonable, but I still had to buy the parts at retail. I had to make a display board as part of the project, and wanted to put a banner that said "Veterinarian Approved!" on the display. So I took it to my veterinarian, who was really excited about it, and proclaimed it approved. When my Dad saw how excited our vet was about the collar, he started to take a closer look at it. I did my business plan and the rest of the project, and got an A for my grade, but I was not chosen to represent the school at the Inventor's Fair in St. Louis. I think the judges didn't have any dogs.

About the same time I was doing my project, my Dad had to attend a patent seminar at his work, and spoke to the patent attorney afterwards about my idea. This person sent him to the patent lawyers of "Thomas, Kayden, Horstemeyer, and Risley" in Atlanta. My Dad also did a patent search on-line and learned that there was not anything like it on the market.

So my Mom and Dad told me that it was worth going ahead and getting a patent and told the lawyers to file a provisional patent in May 1999. My Mom and I were talking about the collar and thinking of names when, between us, we got the name "Walk And Train" which I shortened to "Walk 'N Train" (TM). Then my Dad told the lawyers to file for Trademark protection on that name. That was granted in March of 2000.

By this time I had gone on to the 6th grade. In February of 2000, we went to Office Depot to buy some supplies for school, and they were handing out a sheet advertising a business plan competition sponsored by Office Depot and KidsWay. I had never heard of KidsWay before but the first prize was a laptop computer, and I really wanted that! So I got out my business plan I had worked on earlier, revised it, added more material, did more market research, and asked my 5th grade science teacher, Mr. Murphy, if he would review it and give suggestions.

I totally revised my business plan, and entered it in the competition. My Dad kept telling me that you don't do a business plan just to win contest, but to help you get your ideas straight about how to run your business. He said that if the competition worked out, then that was great, but if it didn't then I still had a great product to sell and a business plan for how to sell it. As part of the business plan research, I found out that the easiest way to get my collar on the market was on the internet. My Mom signed up for a free web page provider, and told my Dad to figure out how to make it work. He still mumbles something about HTML.

My Mom said that if we were putting up a website that we had better be ready to sell collars, and that she was not going to help make collars in the kitchen anymore! So she told my Dad to go to the Yellow Pages and find a manufacturer. He said "Yea, sure!" He was not optimistic!

The first person he called only dealt in dog grooming products but had a friend in Chattanooga that imported horse bridles from Pakistan. He told my Dad to call him. This company is called Tapco, and they represent about 14 manufacturers. The owner told us he knew someone in Taiwan who could make the collars for me. This was just what I had written in my business plan - find an offshore manufacturer to cut the cost of each collar!!

I sent the drawings to Taiwan, and they sent back samples and prices. The prices were better than I could do buying parts at retail, and the quality of the samples was terrific. Then Tapco asked if they could represent my collars to potential customers like Pet Smart, Jeffers Catalog, etc. I was thrilled - of course they could!

In April, 2000, my lawyers filed the utility patent application which is the one used for granting the patent. Also, they filed foreign patents under some treaty that lets you set a filing date in something like 140 countries.

In early May, 2000, I was called by KidsWay and told that I was a finalist in the business plan competition. I was thrilled again, so my Dad took me out of school for a day, and we went to the BizFest seminar in Orlando. On May 20, 2000, the winners were announced and I was selected as the Middle School winner. The fact that the business plans were judged by Anderson Consulting was a real thrill because these are smart business people, and they chose MY PLAN!! I got my wish to win the laptop, and in the meantime, my business was taking off!

In October of 2000, I received Federally Registered Trademark Status, since the mark was actually being used in commerce. In January of 2001, Jeffers Pet Supply put the collar in their catalog, and in October of 2001 I received my patent. I also entered the Kidsway Biz Fest for 2001 and was a National Finalist.

A real thrill was to enter the scholarship program sponsored by Guardian Insurance, called "Girls Going Places". There were over 2200 entries and only 15 awards to be made. There would be 1st, 2nd, and 3rd place awards and 12 finalists. Guess what! I finished in 2nd place and the best part was I got some real cash!
The way everything has happened just makes this seem like it was meant to be! Everyone who sees the collar believes in it. People say that it is a really good idea, and they are impressed by the quality of the collars. Many people also say that it is such a simple idea and that they could have thought of it themselves, but didn't, and that THOSE are the things that sell.

Accomplishments:
1. Winner, Middle School division, National Business Plan competition.
2. Featured in Young Biz magazine
3. Article in Catalyst Magazine - a business to business magazine, Fall 2000
4. Featured in "The Word on Economic Education" Spring 2000
5. Featured on CNN-FN national show called, "Dish for Kids"
6. Article in Aerie The Woodward Academy Magazine, Spring 2001
7. Y&E Magazine, Summer 2001
8. Named one of the top 100 Young Entrepreneurs for 2001
9. National Finalist, Kids Way, Business Plan competition, May, 2001.
10. Patent granted October, 2001.
11. Academy Magazine, Woodward Awademy, Spring 2002.
12. Second Place, "Girls Going Places Scholarship", April, 2002.
13. Money Magazine, April 2002, announcing the Girls Going Places finalists.
14. "Starting With a Plan", Entrepreneur.com, Teen StartUps.com, April, 2002.
15. "Got a One-of-a-Kind Idea? Protect it. Entrepreneur.com, Teen StartUps.com, September, 2002.
16. Article in Southern Living Georgia Living Section, August, 2002.
17. Featured guest on Montel Williams TV show, October, 2002.